S.F. POLITICS Campaign seeks to draft him into mayor's race

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, May 18, 2011

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, meets with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board on Tuesday January. 25, 2011 in San Francisco, Calif.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, meets with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board on Tuesday January. 25, 2011 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

Image 2 of 2

San Francisco mayor Ed Lee (left) makes an announcement of new tenants in the central Market St. area on Market at Taylor streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Left to right--mayor Ed Lee, supervisor Mark Farrell, deputy chief of state Paul Henderson, board president David Chiu, supervisor Jane Kim. less

San Francisco mayor Ed Lee (left) makes an announcement of new tenants in the central Market St. area on Market at Taylor streets in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Left to right--mayor Ed ... more

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

S.F. Mayor Ed Lee pushed to run for post

1 / 2

Back to Gallery

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee began his remarks at a recent news conference with what he said would be a special announcement.

"I'm announcing my candidacy - for being the lead of the pothole crew," he said.

Like a good comic, Lee's joke worked because it's all about timing. And speculation is swirling in and out of City Hall about whether Lee will run for mayor.

On Wednesday, two former San Francisco supervisors began a cyber "Run, Ed, Run" campaign. Last week, a business group had a poll on the mayor's race that had several questions about Lee. The results were not made public, but one insider who was briefed on it said voters had positive feelings about Lee.

Lee, the former city administrator, took over as mayor in January after the Board of Supervisors picked him to replace Gavin Newsom, who left City Hall a year early to become lieutenant governor.

When asked Wednesday about the prospect of running for a full four-year term in the November election, Lee began his answer with another joke, saying the only running he's dong right now is "running away" from the idea. Then he listed a number of critical issues that he's focused on, among them crafting a balanced budget plan and trying to negotiate a pension reform ballot measure.

'Not going to run'

He sidestepped the question until pressed, when he said: "I am sure I am not going to run. This has not been my agenda and it never has been. As many times as I repeated it, people didn't think it was true. But I'm glad they're not saying, 'Get the heck out of the office. You're a bum and you've done wrong.' That helps," Lee said.

But that hasn't stopped supporters who want to change his mind. The filing deadline for the November election is Aug. 12 - more than two months away.

"Mayor Lee's governing style is performance and results, not politics," the first pitch letter states.

Yaki was appointed to the board by then-Mayor Willie Brown and served from 1996 to 2001. Gonzalez, appointed supervisor by then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein, was in office from 1986 to 1993.

Brown bullish

Brown, who with Chinatown power broker Rose Pak helped orchestrate Lee's ascension to the mayor's office four months ago, has been unabashed in his desire to see him stay there.

Three dozen candidates already have entered the mayor's race. Nine are considered serious contenders.

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd is a fan of Lee's, and was the one to nominate him as Newsom's replacement. But, Elsbernd said, "I hope he doesn't run. I think this city desperately needed someone this year who wasn't going to play election-year politics, who wasn't looking for endorsements or campaign contributions," Elsbernd said.

"I've got a real concern that if he files papers to run for mayor, all that goes away," he said.

Elsbernd also predicted that if Lee were to go back on his word, "his stock would fall."

"If he has cover, I don't think it would be a problem for him to get into the race," Ross said. "And by cover, I mean if there's a big groundswell of support."

He said there's still plenty of time for Lee to change his mind. Between now and August, his emphatic statements that he's not interested in the job could morph into a position where he'd consider it if his supporters became too loud to ignore.

Wants old job back

Lee has said all along that he wants to return his job as city administrator. To be eligible for that, he needs a waiver from the city Ethics Commission and the Board of Supervisors. Then Lee would need the new mayor to reappoint him city administrator.

Should Lee run for mayor and lose, the idea of relying on a victorious opponent in the race to give him his old job back becomes much riskier.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said that if Lee were to enter the race, he would leap to front-runner status. But, he cautioned, Lee would need to make a strong case for why he should remain mayor to overcome the potential backlash of going back on his word.

Even if he resumes his city administrator duties, Mirkarimi said, Lee would wield tremendous influence at City Hall having been the city's chief executive, if only temporarily, and with his deep well of contacts inside city government, where he has worked for more than two decades.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.